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syncing to apple tv

mrgreeneyes

mrgreeneyes

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 7, 2007
852
57
Gatineau,Canada
i downloaded a couple of MP4 movies, and i tried to sync them to my apple tv, but itunes keeps telling me that they cannot be played on the apple tv.
 
There probably out of spec for the AppleTV. Things to check would be the resolution and frame rate, the ATV can play the following:-

1280x720 @ 24fps
960x540 @ 30fps

Anything over these and it wont sync or play on the ATV.

Where did you get the mp4's from? iTunes or off the web?
 
roidy said:
There probably out of spec for the AppleTV. Things to check would be the resolution and frame rate, the ATV can play the following:-

1280x720 @ 24fps
960x540 @ 30fps

Anything over these and it wont sync or play on the ATV.

Where did you get the mp4's from? iTunes or off the web?
Click to expand...

i got the mp4's from thepiratebay.

is there an app that i can use to check if the video will play on my apple tv, before i even sync?

also how can i convert my mp4s to m4v, like all my other movies that i have in my itunes?

EDIT: i downloaded date night and the demensions are 1280 x 544. and that plays on my apple tv with no problems.

the mp4s thati have are the following:
1) 1280x544
2) 1280x528
both when i run them in handbrake, to convert them to apple tv format, says it will take 4 or more hours to convert.
 
To check the file specs use a program like MediaInfo

Does the file play in iTunes? If so then the easiest way to convert it is to use the iTunes 'Create iPad or AppleTV Version' menu option. Otherwise you'll need to use Handbrake and the AppleTV preset to convert it.

Regardless of weather you let iTunes or Handbrake do the conversion it's a slow process that benefits from as much cpu power as you can throw at it.
 
roidy said:
To check the file specs use a program like MediaInfo

Does the file play in iTunes? If so then the easiest way to convert it is to use the iTunes 'Create iPad or AppleTV Version' menu option. Otherwise you'll need to use Handbrake and the AppleTV preset to convert it.

Regardless of weather you let iTunes or Handbrake do the conversion it's a slow process that benefits from as much cpu power as you can throw at it.
Click to expand...


yes the videos play in itunes.

which method would be better to convert?
as i would also like to use subler to get all the info abut the movie and the artwork also.

thanks so much for your help.
 
Best/Fastest would be Handbrake, you have a lot more control over the encode. Dosn't matter which method you use, you'll still be able to use Subler on the resulting file.
 
Go into Handbrake's options and make sure this is selected:-
Capture.JPG
This is the Windows version but the same option should be in the Mac version aswell.
 
Firstly what is the frame rate of the file your converting?

Just use the AppleTV preset, then under picture set the width to 1280 if the frame rate is 24fps or less or set the width to 960 if the frame rate is higher that 24fps, if you've got keep aspect ratio checked then Handbrake will enter the correct height for you. Then goto Video filters and if your file is interlaced then turn the decomb filter on. Then use Constant Quality with a RF value of between 21 and 18. The RF value is down to personnal preference, the lower the value the larger the filesize will be but the better the quality. But it's also dependant on how good your source file is to start with. For HD with a good quality source I usally use a RF of about 18.5 for SD video like DVD I use a value of about 19.5. Small value changes can have a large effect on the encoded file size/bitrate. Until you've experimented and found values that work well for you it's trial and error, but for HD from the web I'd try a RF of 19.

All of this is assuming your source file is HD ie has a horizontal resolution of 1280 or higher.
 
roidy said:
Firstly what is the frame rate of the file your converting?

Just use the AppleTV preset, then under picture set the width to 1280 if the frame rate is 24fps or less or set the width to 960 if the frame rate is higher that 24fps, if you've got keep aspect ratio checked then Handbrake will enter the correct height for you. Then goto Video filters and if your file is interlaced then turn the decomb filter on. Then use Constant Quality with a RF value of between 21 and 18. The RF value is down to personnal preference, the lower the value the larger the filesize will be but the better the quality. But it's also dependant on how good your source file is to start with. For HD with a good quality source I usally use a RF of about 18.5 for SD video like DVD I use a value of about 19.5. Small value changes can have a large effect on the encoded file size/bitrate. Until you've experimented and found values that work well for you it's trial and error, but for HD from the web I'd try a RF of 19.

All of this is assuming your source file is HD ie has a horizontal resolution of 1280 or higher.
Click to expand...

i have no idea what the framerates are for the videos im trying to convert.
 
i would imagine that 99% of HD sources from torrents are gonna be 24fps or under but if you want to double check download the MediaInfo program I linked to and run the file through it to see.
 
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